Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 24

After taking a brief rest, Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu set off for the home of Zheng Wan, where the first victim was encountered. Zheng Wan, the former You Fufeng (right minister), had passed away over a month ago, and his body had long been buried, yet his home was still draped in mourning, with banners and the lingering smoke of incense swirling around the courtyard. A servant girl supported a woman in mourning clothes to greet them, a white hairpin slanted in her slightly disheveled hair, her face wan, her body pale, with only her red-rimmed eyes showing the signs of her tears.

After offering a few words of comfort, they were led directly to the courtyard where the incident had occurred. The authorities had already inspected the site and conducted a funeral. Most items were no longer as they were at the time of the incident, but faint bloodstains that couldn't be washed away remained on the stone slabs of the courtyard, silently recording everything that had happened.

Su Shiyu stood in front of a writing desk for a long time, then picked up a few documents, deeply engrossed in thought. Chu Mingyun retracted his gaze, feeling that he couldn't discern anything from the courtyard, and turned to walk towards Madam Zheng.

The image of Zheng Wan's death with his eyes wide open was still vivid in their minds, turning this other courtyard into a wound in Madam Zheng's heart. She did not wish to step foot in it again and had been waiting outside for them.

"Madam Zheng," Chu Mingyun asked, "since you said your husband was murdered late at night, what was he doing here instead of sleeping in his room?"

"There were some official documents from the office that my husband brought back to review in the study," Madam Zheng slowly replied.

"Did Zheng Wan often do this?"

"Not often," she thought for a moment and said, "For some urgent documents that had just been delivered, my husband was accustomed to bringing them home to review slowly."

"So the murderer, if not a servant of your house, must be someone familiar with the Right Assistant Minister." A gentle voice came from behind, as Su Shiyu walked steadily forward.

Chu Mingyun looked at him and smiled slightly, "What has Lord Su discovered?"

"Initially, I didn't find any useful clues," Su Shiyu said, "But the question Lord Chu just asked reminded me."

"...Imperial Censor Lord, why do you say that?" Madam Zheng looked at Su Shiyu, her eyes flickering.

Su Shiyu smiled lightly, "It's just my speculation, but it shouldn't be far off. The presence of a guard's body in this courtyard means that the murderer's skills were not so exceptional as to avoid alerting anyone. However, no one in the other courtyards of the house was aware of the incident, and even you, Madam, only discovered Lord Zheng's murder the next morning. Thus, it seems that the murderer entered directly here."

Madam Zheng frowned tightly, looking at him puzzled, "What does what you've said have to do with the identity of the murderer as mentioned earlier?"

Su Shiyu smiled faintly, "It's just my guess, but it shouldn't be far off. The presence of guards' bodies in this courtyard means that the murderer's skills were not so good that no one was alerted, yet no one in the other courtyards of the mansion knew about the incident. Even you, madam, didn't realize that Lord Zheng had been killed until the next morning. Therefore, it seems the murderer came directly here."

Madam Zheng furrowed her brows, looking at him puzzledly, "What you have said about the murderer's identity, how does it relate to what you mentioned just now?"

Chu Mingyun had already understood, "What he means is, the other party must know that Zheng Wan had the habit of reviewing official documents here, and also understood the layout of your mansion, allowing them to come directly here. It wouldn't be someone completely unfamiliar." He paused, then turned to Su Shiyu, saying: "It must also be someone who knew that Zheng Wan had urgent official documents that night."